Saturday, July 31, 2010

I´ve been test-driving this cute little guy for the past weeks and thought it´s time to share my views on it =)As I said I hauled more stuff from Fueki with my last Sasa order. I think the Nakayoshi UV Cream SPF25 PA++ is one of the most popular Fueki products.

I was quite astonished by how small the cute little head-shaped jar looks. It contains 50ml and is seriously tiny. But now after using the cream for over 2 weeks I notice that a little goes a long way for sure.This UV Cream has a really weird texture I never encountered in a beauty product so far. It´s a sticky texture reminiscent of a thick pudding or like a thick glue perhaps?

Still when applying it it doesn´t feel sticky but rather lightweight and comfortable. This only applies to using it on a cleaned moisturized face though! When I use this on dry skin it can indeed feel sticky and a little hard to spread so to me this is not really suitable as a body sunscreen (given the tiny size this is not really an interesting option anyway).

I like that this doesn´t have any smell at all, especially not the typical smell found in unscented sun protection products. It rather has a slightly sweetish smell but it is not fragranced.

This is very mild (it´s formulated for the whole family, children and adults) and gives me no irritations or allergic reactions at all and seems to protect well as I didn´t get any redness when wearing this outside for several hours.This product is also water-proof so you will need to remove it with makeup remover and face cleanser.

Overall I like this Nakayoshi UV Cream SPF25 PA++ very much and been using it daily and intend to continue with it. It cost me around US$6 which isn´t much for a nice sun lotion.

This product also comes with a sheet with 2 sun glasses stickers so you can exchange the green one for a red heart-shaped or a dark one.. so cute!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Kate´s Cheek Color N has been a staple product for me the previous years and I reaached for one of my 3 colors quite often.Recently the range was revamped and renamed to Cheek Color S and I got 1 of the colors hoping it would be nice.

The new compact is a little different from the previous version, now with a part made of matte plastic and a slanted shape. The included brush is made of decently soft hair but not as soft as the older version in my opinion..still it will work in a rush or on the go!

The texture is still quite silky albeit a little hard..however the level of pigment is so low it´s quite a disappointment. It shows up if I appy like 5 layers but not really well and I feel the blush has the tendency to disappear after a few hours of wear. The old version was certainly sheer but still workable but I feel the newer Cheek Color S is even sheerer and fade a good deal.There are 2 shimmery colors in each palette, the larger portion is a lighter and the smaller a slightly darker color. I mix them together as I find it hard to pick up the color from the smaller part alone with my normal face brush as it´s really tiny.

This blush retails for 1300 Yen for 2.7g of product. Not really recommended unless you are searching for a super sheer blush.

The swatch shows about 3 layers of blush but it just wouldn´t show up well!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

For the summer season 2010 Aube Couture released a new line of eyeshadow palettes called Designing Shine Eyes. This is the first time since the brand (Aube) was revamped and renamed to Aube Couture in late 2008/early 2009 that there is a new range of eyeshadow palettes.

I like the previous version called Designing Eyes very much as the colors are very wearable and finely milled with a subtly shiny finish.The new Designing Shine Eyes come in neutral colors but with a very shimmery super sheer eyeshadow to layer on top of the other colors for additional sparkle and glimmer.

The palette case looks the same as in the older version however the pink color is now darker. The layout of the eyeshadows is the same but the liner shade at the very right is now missing therefore there is a circle on the upper left corner containing the glitter shadow.

The main difference I notice between the new and old version is that the Designing Shine Eyes palette I got is way more pigmented than its predecessor (the 3 colors...the glitter shade is really sheer). It really has kick-ass pigment for a Japanese brand!The colors are also more shimmery, more like the limited palettes that came out for Xmas 2009!The shadows are silky and last very well, all in all very high-end quality!

I got color 534 which is the brown quad available. In total there are 5 colors to choose from. To be honest it´s not my favorite brown combo as it leans towards warm and muddy but still it´s a good pick.

I got mine from Ichibankao but they are closed right now. I would check out Mihokoshop or maybe Goddealer. I believe Adambeauty doesn´t stock this product (yet).

Retails for 3700 Yen (for 3.2g of product). To open the compact please push both sides and the cover will flip open.

My feet are usually in a good shape with smooth skin not much callus as I moisturize them well, usually twice daily and I exfoliate them regularly.My favorite foot cream is the 10% Urea Cream for Hands & Feet from Shiseido but I ran out of it before I left and forgot to reorder so I packed the Cracked Heel Cream from Sam Tin (a Taiwanese brand) and hoped it´d be nice, too.

The Cracked Heel Cream comes in a generous 120ml squeeze tube and costs a mere US$3 (I paid US$2.80 due to my VIP discount) on Sasa right now.

The cream has a really lovely scent, fresh and light and very pleasant. It´s a very rich and moisturizing cream which makes my feet incredibly soft and smooth. It takes time to be absorbed though so best to apply it before bedtime or in the morning before you wear socks.I am not sure if this would be strong enough to really cure super cracked heels but I can say that it´s a fantastic foot moisturizer for daily use and will definitely help solving any dry skin issues.

This contains Tranexamic Acid, Shea Butter, Lanolin, Urea and Hyluronic Acid so this mix alone should make a potent moisturizer.

Definitely good product and highly recommended. I think the Shiseido 10% Urea Hands & Feet Cream is still even more heavy duty but this product from Sam Tin is definitely fantastic value for money and a really awesome product!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Tired of restrooms being out of soap? Not interested to carry liquid or bar soap with you then? No problem, BN is here to help you with their Roll de Cosme!You can´t imagine how much I love this stuff! It´s one of the most convenient products from Japan I own!

The Roll de Cosme is soap in paper form. When you touch it it feels like any paper tissue but as soon as it comes in contact with water it will lather up to a really nice creamy soap leaving your hands clean and moisturized. It smells nicely fresh, only very light but the scent is there.This product is especially useful right now in Egypt as restrooms are notoriously out of soap here. I think I needed the paper soap here already on like 5 occasions already!

What I also like about the Roll de Cosme is how cute the soap is packed! You get an adorable black container with a heart charme dangling from one side. When you want to take out the soap just pull out about 5cm and close the black container. Then you can tear off the piece very easily.

One Roll de Cosme lasts for about 40 washes if you use 5cm each time. Costs US$4.50 on Sasa.

Tada....here I present you the best eBay deal I scored within the past months... a brand new Coffret D´orDual Beauty Blush for around US$8 shipped! Yep, below US$10 for a brand new blush! The cheapest online shop you can get this from is Adambeauty.com (US$28). Cool, huh? =P03 Red was the 2nd color I liked out of the 3 blushes and I already own 01 Pink which I have already reviewed here.

As I mentioned in my previous review these blushes are really tiny and slim. Each consists of 2 blush colors and a highlighter but there is no brush included in the mirrored compact.

The texture is silky and smooth with a beautiful lightly shimmery finish. The blush is sheer but buildable and shows up pretty vividly after a few swipes.

03 is a combination of natural peachy beiges suitable for most neutral lipsticks. Very versatile colors in my opinion!

This Goat Milk Shower Cream from Mistine was the other item that arrived the day I left for my holiday trip. I popped it into my suitcase to have couple of shower gels to choose from here (the other one I brought is the Bioré Shower Cream Sakura Sensation and a sample tube of KoséNature & Co.Shower Gel).

The Goat Milk Shower Cream comes in a very simple pearly white bottle with a rather nuts looking goat on the sticker.The design is quite different from other Mistine products that usually look quite colorful and pretty. I like the simple design though and the crazy goat is cute =D

This shower cream has a strong soapy scent. Not like milk, just a fresh soap smell...nothing special but not yucky either.I would say this is a mild shower gel as even though it lathers nicely it makes my skin soft and clean but not dry or tight.

Overall a good shower cream I will be enjoying much in the next weeks.I love using it with this cute guy here:(Kokubo Bath Talk Body Wash Net Frog)... so cute and only a bit over $1 on Sasa!

I´ve been prescribed new contact linses back in May so I ordered the Lycée Contact eye drops to keep my eyes healthy and comfortable when wearing them.This is the first time I got contact lenses in about 10 years as previously I could only wear hard ones and found them too uncomfy to even bother...so I was just wearing my specs. Anyway, finally I can wear lenses again (1-month disposable ones) =D

I found an offer for the Lycée Contact & a free case so I ordered them from Alphabeautyuk. Incl. the case the drops just cost 0.20$ more so I got the ones with the storage case.

I honestly thought the case would be a container to hold the lenses but it´s actually a storage case for the eye drops. It comes with a mirror but I neither use a mirror to insert the lenses or drops nor to remove them but a mirror can always be handy anyway.

The Lycée Contact eye drops come in a very cute little bottle in light pink. I can surely get eye drops for contact lenses in Austria but why not get the cute ones from Japan hehe? And they´re not pricey and the 8ml will last a while (though please remember to discard your eye drops regularly, about every 2-3 months max).

I tried the regular Lycée eye drops before and honestly they stung too much since they are "cooling". I don´t mind a little cooling effect but the regular ones just felt painful and not refreshing.The Lycée Contact seem to be milder (they are only cooling level 1 out of 5, I believe the regular one is 3) as I feel a light cooling sensation but not the heavy burning and stinging like in the regular ones. The Contact drops seem to make my eyes feel refreshed and awake when I use them so they´re really perfect for a contact lens wearer.

Overall I recommend theLycée Contact eye drops even if you don´t wear contacts over the regular kind. If you like the cooling sensation you might want to try the Rohto Z! drops as they are obviously the most cooling (aka burning, cooling level 6 respectively 7) drops from Rohto as far as I know (available in various kinds incl. for contact lens wearers, regular, multi-purpose etc.) =P

Use 4-6 times per day (at most), 1-2 drops per application. Don´t touch the nozzle to prevent contamination and always close cap tightly after use.These eye drops are free of colorant, the pink tint comes from the Vitamin B12 contained in the liquid.

I found this fragrance spray from Sana called Hime-Ichigo (Princess Strawberry?) on eBay a few months ago and have almost finished my bottle by now.

Hime-Ichigo comes in a cute pink glass bottle with flowers and strawberries printed all over.Honestly when I ordered it I thought it´d probably not smell nice, much too sweet and childish but when I received it and sniffed it I was really impressed with how lovely it smelt.Hime-Ichigo smells fruity but not really like strawberry blended with a soft floral note with an overall rather fresh tinge. It´s refreshing and soft and not tacky or overly sweet at all. More like a fruity light cologne.

Honestly the staying power isn´t great as the scent fades rather quickly but this is just a cologne spray so one shouldn´t expect a very long-lasting perfume here.

Overall a cute fragrance spray at an affordable price (700 Yen for 50ml). I think I paid somewhere around US$10-12 plus shipping from eBay.

Monday, July 26, 2010

I personally find it a bit tricky to find deodorants that work. I have the tendency to sweat quickly and a lot so many deorodants just give up at a certain point. I tried the Kosé Softymo Powder Spray and find it works quite nicely but not for very long times. The Kao 8x4 Kirei sprays on the other hand don´t really work for me.

I purchased this Wakigard Deodorant Gel from Kobayashi about 4 months ago and have been using it for about 2 weeks now.It´s a clear gel that comes in a rather boring 50ml squeeze tube with a hole so you just squeeze some out and apply it to your armpits. The gel dries quickly and doesn´t really have a scent, just smells lightly of menthol thus also feels a little cooling (but really not much, just slightly). Overall very easy and convenient to apply even though I am normally a spray user.

I put this deodorant to test through really long, hard and hot days in Austria and here in Egypt and I am seriously impressed with its strength. I don´t smell the least bit of sweat at all even after hours out in the heat. Also my armpits stay dry and clean so this is definitely fantastic stuff for me.After shaving I don´t experience any burning or stinging feeling.. I am not sensitive in that area though! Furthermore there were no stains on my shirts when wearing this!

I cannot say if the great effect will persist as I noticed that deodorants sometimes stop working after a certain time (about a month after starting then I should shift to something else then I can go back to the first deodorant). I don´t know what causes this weird thing but it happens to me regularly.

So far however this is about the best deodorant I have used in long time and certainly the best I found among Japanese brands so far.

Retails for 840 Yen in Japan. I paid about US$10 incl. shipping from Alphabeautyuk on eBay.

I started to really like Media for its affordable but usually good items! I didn´t buy lip liners in loooooong time, I usually use my HG color from IPSA which goes with pretty much all lip colors and the (older version) ones from Maquillage for deeper or rosier colors.

I got 3 of the Lip Liner A from Facial-Shop about couple of weeks ago and they arrived in time before I left. Facial-Shop seems to be down or currently unavailable and I don´t know what´s wrong. Anyway, I am sure you can get the liners from Mihokoshop if you contact her and request this product.

These liners are small and slim thus will fit into any pocket. They are cheap as they retail for only 650 Yen each and there are many colors to choose from.I got 3 colors that work with about any of my lipsticks except maybe the very deep berry reds.

The liners apply smoothly and evenly and last as long as the lipcolor lasts on me so they´re pretty perfect lip liners. All 3 are rather pigmented but the colors are rather natural and really work beautifully with my lipsticks and glosses.Since the liners are creamy they can be blended well so the line will not look harsh.

BE-1 is a perfect MLBB (my lips but better) color, BE-2 is a light beige and RS-1 is a cool rose mauve.

Overall I am pretty happy with these lip liners and probably won´t purchase more liners over the next year or so as these 3 colors are just great. I rarely buy lip liners as I said above so I think these are the first ones I bought the past 2 years or so!